Getting Some Produce at Warorot Market

Yesterday, J. and I went to Warorot Market to buy some produce and odds and ends. A fun time was had getting lost in the dense chaotic clusterfudge that is an old-school Thai market. We ate lunch in rundown restaurant that had a crying baby, a toddler walking on a table top, and a cook that was all smiles and wok.

A lot of the merchandise is duplicated and plentiful. It’s hard to understand how all the vendors can make a living if they all sell the same stuff. It’s especially confusing in the dry goods area, where the displays are nearly kaleidoscope symmetrical. There are also some hilarious knock-off brands. In the jeans area, you can find such famous pants as Levise, Wrengler, Cockers, Chups, Dolf Larem, and many more. In the shampoo isle, it just gets weird with bottles of Pantone, Shine, Baby Puff, and Nature’s Milk.

We found what we were looking for and more that day. I looked especially cool walking out into the sun with my new pair of Roy Buns.

The bustling main street between the two main market buildings.

Escalators that haven’t work in decades.

Personal care products of mysterious Chinese origins.

Happy children in jams.

At least you can tell what type of meat it is.

Produce for sale by a friendly lady.

Garlic, onions, and peppers.

Here are a few shots of what we bought (not pictured are peeled persimmons):

Custard apples. 25bht/kg

Normal size banananananananas. Most have been the small kind. 20bht

Longan. So good for snacking. Since yesterday, we’ve eaten a kilo. 20bht/kg

Bael slices. 50bht

Long bean. 10bht/bunch

Carrots. 5bht each

Tomatoes. 10bht/bag

Green peppercorns. Meaning FRESH OFF THE %#@#*NG BUSH GREEN! 10bht/bag

Garlic. 10bht/bag

Chinese broccoli. 10bht/bunch

Green onion. 5bht/bunch

For lunch today, I made carrots with garlic and peppercorn sauce. It was served with sliced tomatoes and fried chinese broccoli with long beans and red curry paste. Not very filling, but more vegetables than we normally have for a meal. I am overjoyed to be able to pop fresh peppercorns into my mouth. It’s like pepper, but pepperer.

Of course, vegetables beget crap. For dinner we got expensive and decent cheeseburgers from a place called Mikes. It’s weird how here a fast burger and fries costs more than delicious Thai food. Supply and demand at work, I guess. Our burger, fries, and drink combos cost 129bht($4) each.

Everything was normal enough except some weird looking tomatoes.

Tomorrow we extend our visas and talk to some monks. And eat our veggies.